Fairy Tale
by bookiealchemist
Summary: It ignited when young, and it kept fueling as they grew up until the smoke intoxicated them both. [Childhood Love AU] Nalu.


_**Fairy Tale**_

* * *

It took a near-death experience for Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel to meet.

In a public pool in the middle of the hot summer, full of families with little children, Lucy found herself playing alone with her doll. Her mother had just gone to go grab her towel and her father had stayed in his office, working. He was always working, but Lucy, the little four years old, wasn't mad. She was happy because her mommy said they were a happy family.

"Mommy says I should be happy, so I am happy." Lucy murmured to her doll. When it didn't respond, she puffed her big, red cheeks in annoyance. Normally, a maid or her mother would answer back to her.

"Lucy, come here!" She heard her mom, so she smiled brightly at her and made her way over the stairs of the pool. There were so many people. She couldn't even count them! So many happy families were there... And in all of them, there was a daddy.

"I'm going!" she shouted back, pushing softly some kids to make her way. So many people...

Near the stairs, Lucy felt her foot slip. Her mother had told her to be careful, since sometimes pools could be very tricky and make her fall. She wished she'd been more alert. The part she was on wasn't deep, and she was near the stairs... But she fell before she could reach them, and her head hit with the floor.

Her vision turned black and she couldn't breath. Lucy didn't understand what was happening. Where was the superfici and where was the floor? What happened with her doll? Was Michelle okay?

She thought she heard some shouts, her mom's scared voice. But she wasn't sure. Everything felt dizzy.

And when she couldn't anymore, when she was going to close her eyes because she suddenly wanted to take a nap, someone lifted her.

Suddenly, she was coughing and fighting for air. Her head was spinning. She opened her eyes and saw a kid with big eyes and... pink hair? How unfair, she always dreamed of having pink hair.

"Lucy, Lucy!" It was her mommy. Her voice sounded worried. Why was she worried? She felt how the boy moved and dragged her along. When they reached the stairs, her mother took her from his arms and laid her down in the cold floor.

"Mommy?" Lucy asked, worried. Some water slipped from her mouth. Why was that? It worried her even more.

Another man, with bright red hair and an ugly beard in her opinion, came over them and started to push her chest roughly, making her cough more water. Lucy started to cry.

"Don't cry," Her mom said, patting her head. "Everything's gonna be okay,"

And Lucy believed her, because Layla Heartfilia was always right.

She didn't know how much time passed, probably barely a minute, before the old man stopped pushing her chest and water stopped coming from her mouth. She started to breathe normally again, though her head hurt a little and she was very scared.

Her mother hugged her tightly against her chest, and Lucy saw some tears dripping from her eyes. Lucy cried more.

"Daddy, why are they crying?" Lucy heard the pink-haired boy ask the old man. They both, and all the people in the public pool, looked at them; some with soft smiles and others with worry. Kids didn't look at them, just kept playing in the water. The boy who saved her was the only looking at them with confusion written all over his rounded face.

"Because they are still scared, son." The man with the ugly beard explained.

Layla broke the hug and looked at her Lucy, who was staring at her savers. The woman wiped the tears from both faces and stood up, smiling warmly at the man and the boy. She took Lucy's little hand in hers and said;

"Lucy, say thank you to them. They saved your life."

Lucy's chocolate eyes opened with surprise. She felt another round of endless tears gathering up again, but even before she had the opportunity to free them, they big eyed boy said;

"Why are you crying now? I mean, you are okay now."

Lucy cried with more euphoric all the same. "Be-because I'm so grateful you saved m-me!" she said, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand a they rolled down her puffy cheeks.

"Hey..." the boy said, his eyebrows furrowing together. Suddenly, his face illuminated, as if a great idea had just popped up in his mind. "Let's play together!" he announced, a big smile in his lips, demonstrating he was very satisfied with it.

Lucy's eyes sparkled with excitement. It has been a long time since she played with other kids, since she was always in her house. She looked at her mother, who chuckled and nodded.

"Yay!" the boy said with a bigger grin, and started running towards the water slice for kids,and Lucy run behind him, laughing. She was going to play with another kid! And one with pink hair!

When they arrived, the boy turned to her and saw her looking with fear at the pool. Lucy didn't want to be scared, but she couldn't help it. Still, she was _so_ going to play with him. She caught him looking at her.

"Are you scared?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Lucy shook her head. "Of course not,"

"You shouldn't be!" he said. "I'm here to save you anytime!" he punched his own chest, and smiled reassuringly at her.

 _He had a pretty smile_ , Lucy thought, _for a kid._

"What's your name?" she asked. "I'm Lucy!"

"I'm Natsu!" he said. "Nice to meet you, Luigi."

"I said Lucy!" she puffed her cheeks in annoyance, making him laugh.

"Your cheeks are so big," Natsu said.

"Are not!" she said. Calming herself down, she added; "You know, my mom says I'm a Princess." Natsu looked at her confused, so she continued before he could mock her. "And you saved me, so that means you're my Prince!"

Natsu grimaced; his little tongue coming out of his lips. "Urgh, no! I want to be a dragon!"

Lucy frowned. "Dragons are evil."

"Of course not!" Natsu said, crossing his arms. "Dragons are soooo much better than princes!"

"That's not how fairy tales go," Lucy explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Because for her, it was. Even the boys in her kindergarten knew it.

"So?" Natsu asked. "I like my fairy tale better." He smiled brightly at her. "Igneel told me it! He's my Daddy!"

Lucy couldn't help but smile too. "I want to hear it!" she said.

"Let's go then!" Natsu said excitedly, grabbing her hand and running back where their parents talked, the water slice long forgotten.

* * *

It took a promise for Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel to realize they were best friends.

Lucy was, literally, crying her eyes out in treehouse of her mansion's backyard. She was only six years old; but she was utterly destroyed. Her mother Layla had died two days ago for a deadly illness. Her sweet mother had been taken away from her when she most needed her. How unfair was the life? She couldn't understand it.

Many maids tried to reason with her, make her eat something or go to sleep to her bed. Not her father. He was still working. Work, work. Did he even care that his wife just died? Lucy was unable to understand.

She felt empty -after all, her mom was everything. She made the most delicious chocolate chip cookies, called her a Princess with the sweetest voice ever and played with her -Lucy wanted to be like Layla when she grew up. But now who was going to guide her? Who was going to be her light in the dark way?

"Lucy!" a voice she already knew too well called her. It was Natsu. She missed him.

She turned around and found him standing in the "door" of her tree house. His dark green eyes were worried, and almost... pitying.

"Natsu..." she said before her voice cracked and more, more tears came. Would she ever stop crying? She hugged her legs tighter and pressed them against her chest, blowing her nose.

He knelt beside her, looking nervous and unsure. "I came the fastest I could... I just arrived from my fishing trip with Dad..." he scratched his neck. "I heard... what happened."

Lucy ignored him -she cried. She could only cry, mourn over her gone mother.

A strange noise made her lift her head, and for the first time in those two years, she saw Natsu cry. He was beside her, with tears streaming down his face and falling to the dusty wooden floor.

"Why are you crying?" she asked, her voice weak.

"Because you're crying," Natsu responded, simply and short.

"You never cry when I cry," Lucy said, confused.

"Well, I loved Layla too. She made the best cookies ever." Natsu said, rolling his eyes as it was obvious. "Igneel's cook is awful and I never had a mommy."

Lucy's eyes widened. She always wondered what happened to Natsu's mom, but her own mother said it was bad education to ask.

"You never met her?" she asked.

"No," Natsu shook his head fiercely, his pinks locks moving along. "But I'm not sad."

Lucy was already used to see him as a hero, a brave kid who always saved her no matter the situation. Because it was the pure truth. He was the one who saved her on the pool, and that time she fell from her bike, he was the one who was there to stop her tears. For her, he was a prince... or a dragon, as he liked to put it.

"You shouldn't be sad either," he said. But then he considered his words. "No, I mean... you should be sad, but not very sad until you don't want to play anymore. I like playing with you so..." he struggled, trying to find what he truly wanted to say.

Lucy laughed, feeling a little better. Natsu always made her laugh, he was so silly!

"I like playing with you too." she said, wiping her tears.

He smiled brightly, mimicking her actions. "You stopped crying!" he announced, and it was only then that Lucy realized he was right.

Lucy smiled fondly, confusing him. "Thank you, Natsu." she said.

"Uh? For what?" he asked. Confusion was written all over his face.

Instead of answering, Lucy giggled and kissed him in the cheek. "For being my best friend," she said.

Natsu looked at her perplexed, his cheeks matching his wild hair. It made Lucy blush too.

"Are we... best friends?" he asked slowly.

"Of course we are!" Lucy said, smiling. She didn't mention him he was her only friend, too. She was sure he had a lot of more friends, after all, he wasn't locked up in his house all day.

Natsu looked at her amazed, a enormous smile infiltrating his lips slowly. "Okay, pinkie promise!" he said, stretching out his pinky.

Lucy entwined hers. "We are going to be the best friends forever!" she said.

* * *

It took a cat for Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel to realize how important they were for each other.

Lucy missed Natsu. A little too much.

It wasn't that he was gone, living at the other side of the world. He was still, right there, in his little cosy house.

Except, Igneel wasn't there anymore.

And Lucy missed Igneel a lot too; she missed his jokes, his cares, his burned cookies, his warm hugs.

Throughout the years, Lucy started to see the red haired man as a second father, considering hers wasn't with her at all, even after Layla's death two years ago.

Lucy was still very sad. Igneel passed away eleven months ago, leaving a hole in both Lucy and Natsu's hearts.

And since then, Natsu wasn't the same anymore. His smile was long gone, he didn't play with her, he didn't make her laugh with his bad jokes and he didn't call her name.

She tried to go and cheer him up as he did with her before. She went to his house countless times, but everytime Grandeeney and Wendy (Natsu's new adoptive mother and sister) told her he didn't want to leave his room with a very sad face. Nevertheless, she stayed there a couple of hours, waiting for him. She even befriended the old woman and the little blue haired girl. Nothing of it worked.

But this time, Lucy thought with seriousness, she was going to cheer him up. She even bought a gift for him!

She knocked on the very familiar door, sudden nervousness consuming her. This time, she was going to make sure she saw Natsu, no matter the costs.

As she expected, Grandeeney opened the door, a sad smile adorning her lips. Her hair was tied up in a bun, with some locks framing her wrinkled face. Lucy learned that, despite her hard looks, this woman was kind at heart.

"Lucy," Grandeeney said. "Natsu still doesn't-"

"It's okay," Lucy interrupted, a dangerous step, considering the woman standing in front of her hated being cut in the middle of the phrase. "I'm going to see him anyways."

Ignoring the way her eye twitched, Grandeeneys's face frowned. "But Natsu refuses to leave his room, I already tried all the ways-"

 _Nyaa._

Lucy's face reddened. It was supposed to be a surprise for everyone, after all!

"Was that... did something... _purr_?" Grandeeneys's eyebrow arched skeptically, eyeing the big box Lucy carried under her arm.

"Maybe?" Lucy tried. She didn't want to be scolded by the woman.

It seemed infinite seconds before Grandeeney's expression softened and a understanding smile crossed her thin lips. "Well, I'm not going to ask. If you convince Natsu to get out, I'll prepare a big plate of cookies only for you two."

Lucy's eyes shone in excitement. The woman's homemade cookies were delicious. Well, not so much as her mother's but close enough. Those were definitely better than Igneel's burned ones.

"Okay!" Lucy sang. She run inside the house, upstairs until she stood in front of the scratched door. She got more nervous as time passed. How long has it been since she last saw Natsu? Since she last saw his toothed, happy smile?

She knocked it, her tiny fist lightly touching the door.

"Leave me alone!" she heard. Lucy frowned, tightening her grip on the gift box she held. Natsu's voice was monotone.

"I'm Lucy!" she yelled back. She was going to see him today. She couldn't stay any longer without him. He was her best friend.

A moment of silence passed within them.

"I don't want to see you!" Natsu shouted.

Lucy stopped breathing. Why did he told her that? Did her forget they were the best friends ever? Why didn't he want to see her? Lucy felt her eyes burn, and she sniffed back a sob. She couldn't help it anymore.

"I lost my mother too!" she said, loud enough for him to hear it.

Lucy sat, back against the door, and cried. Hugging her knees against her chest, she hide her face and let all of her tears fall. She had tried not to cry for him, so she could be strong only for him. After all, it was him who cheered her up and smiled for her when her mother had passed away two years ago. Why didn't he let her do the same?

She heard the cat in the box meowing along her sobs. She really wanted to gave it to Natsu so he could be happy again, but it seemed it wasn't possible. At least, not today.

The door opened behind her. She turned around, and saw Natsu looking at her with sorrow expression, accompanied by guilt. He sat beside her, imitating her posture.

"I'm sorry." he mumbled. He really meant it, Lucy could say.

"It's okay," she said, wiping the tears from her face although new ones came. Why did she always have to cry? "I missed you,"

"I... missed you too," Natsu said, his voice breaking.

Lucy, extremely surprised, looked at him with wide eyes. He was _crying_ too. Not as much as her, but she still could see some tears rolling down his cheeks. His fists were tight, until the point his knuckles turned white. He was angry, too.

"I'm sorry for being an idiot. I...I..." Natsu stopped, biting his lips as he held a sob back.

Lucy put a hand over his. "It really is okay Natsu, I _understand_." she told him, trying to put all the sincerity she had into those words, because she really did understand.

"Thank you," Natsu whispered, the corners of his lips turning slightly upwards. It filled Lucy with hope. Because maybe it wasn't his usual smile, but it still was something.

 _Nyaaa._

Natsu frowned. "What was that? he asked, his dark eyes fixing on the brown box with a lot of holes laying next to his friend.

"Oh," Lucy said, letting Natsu's hand go and grabbing the box beside her. She placed it between them and smiled. "I got a gift for you,"

She opened it, and revealed a little blue cat with a pink ribbon on its neck, looking at him with wide dark eyes. It meowed again at the sight of the two kids.

"It's a cat," Natsu said, curiosity dripping from his voice.

"Yes,"

"And it's blue,"

"Yes,"

"Why?" Natsu laughed. _He actually laughed._

"Who knows." Lucy said, and she couldn't resist the urge to laugh with him. It's been such a long time.

"What it its name?" Natsu asked, grabbing the cat out of the box and placing it in his lap. "It's a girl?"

"It's a boy," Lucy clarified. "And it doesn't has one."

"And then why the ribbon is pink?"

"Because it makes him look prettier!" Lucy said, puffing her cheeks out.

"Of course it doesn't," Natsu said as he took the ribbon out, ignoring Lucy's indignant face. Natsu patted the cat's head, his fingers touching the blue fur of the cat.

"So, since it is yours, what is his name?" Lucy asked curiously.

Natsu frowned, obviously thinking. A moment later, his face illuminated and he bluntly stated, "Happy!"

"Happy?" Lucy asked, laughing.

"Yeah," Natsu said, smiling at the cat. "Because he makes us both happy, see?" he said, and then he gave her his toothed smile, and that was the moment Lucy knew he was himself again, and while the void Igneel left in him would never disappear, Natsu was again able to move on.

They continued to play with the cat for a long time, until Grandeeney called them and Wendy for the cookies and they all laughed and played and ate together. And it wasn't until Lucy's maid arrived to pick her up that Natsu told her,

"Thank you Lucy. _You're so special to me_. Thank you."

* * *

It took a fight for Lucy Heartfilia to admit she liked Natsu Dragneel.

For a twelve years old Lucy, the day in Seventh Grade had started as always with her crazy classmates.

They'd been doing what Miss Jeanne had told them to, cutting paper and creating what they wanted for the upcoming Christmas season. Lucy was all fired up for it, the excitement running through her as days passed. It was the only day in the whole year where her father put bussiness away and actually talk to her.

For a whole day.

Lucy's never been happier.

"What'cha doing, Lucy?" Gray asked at her side, looking over her shoulder at what she held in her hands.

"It's a fairy," Lucy explained, smiling at her own creation. It reminded her of her mom. "For the Christmas tree in my house."

"Ohh," Gray said, his black eyes scanning it.

"It looks like a bird to me," Natsu popped in, looking over her other shoulder. She still didn't get why he always showed up when Gray talked to her. He was so crazy sometimes.

"It does not!" Lucy argued, rolling her eyes.

"It does!" Natsu said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It doesn't look like a fairy at all!"

"It's like the fairies my mom told me about." Lucy confessed, a light blush adorning her cheeks.

At the mention of Layla, Natsu stopped his next comeback.

"Oh," Gray said, oblivious to the truth. "She'll like it."

Lucy smiled sadly, putting the little fairy close to her chest. "Yeah,"

"Hey, insensible asshole!" Natsu punched Gray in the jaw, effectively throwing him to the ground. Lucy yelped and watched him with wide eyes, unable to believe it. But at the same time, she wanted to scold him for swearing. She kinda understood he'd grown up being all day out of his house -since he didn't like it as much now that Igneel was gone- and that he'd heard lots of things, but she still didn't like it.

"What's wrong with you?" Gray shouted, angry, as he stood up. "Flame Brain."

"Watch your words, Ice Princess!" Natsu shouted, already throwing another punch at the black haired kid. This time, Gray was able to dodge it.

"Teacher, Natsu and Gray are fighting again!" a kid said in the distance, but Lucy was too focused on her best friends to care.

"Stop it! Natsu!" Lucy yelled.

But Natsu didn't hear her. He was wrestling in the floor with Gray, rolling and hitting. Lucy saw Gray punching Natsu in the face, surely leaving him a black eye.

"What are you doing, kids?" Miss Jeanne came in, watching with terror at her students. She forcefully grabbed Gray and separated him from Natsu, holding him with her arms. Their classmates, all of the boys, tried to hold Natsu too.

Lucy was at the edge of tears, yet again.

"You two, detention, now!" The teacher said. "What were you fighting for, this time?"

It was no news that the two got into fights all the time, but it'd never went this far before. The two boys fell silent. It was so them to not reveal their true reasons. Lucy didn't get why they always fought, they were best friends too.

"Okay then," Their teacher said, probably done with them. "Go off now. Stop fighting."

And so, Lucy watched Natsu and Gray walk angrily off the class, making their way to detention again.

The rest of the hour was too quiet, and Lucy didn't like it one bit. Not without her two best friends.

So even before the bell rang, she picked up her stuff and ran over the detention room, as she always did for them. It was not a long way, and before she knew, she was standing in front of the big, gray, sad door.

It wasn't long before it opened, revealing the two grumpy boys. Lucy sighed, relieved, and walked up to hug them both, one arm around each of them.

"Idiots," Lucy said, her voice muffled by Natsu's shirt. He smelled as good as always. "Why did you do that?"

Gray snorted, "Ask him. I have no idea."

Lucy tilted her head to see Natsu's face, but he looked away. She noticed the pink in his cheeks, matching with his weird hair.

"Natsu?" she asked.

"What?"

"Why did you fight Gray?"

"Because he's an ass."

Lucy broke their hug and smacked Natsu on his shoulder, "What did I say about cursing?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, still not looking at her. "Whatever."

Lucy grimaced, pursing her lips together. She sure had to talk with him later.

"Ugh. You look married." Gray stated blunty.

Lucy shot her head at his direction at full speed, her eyes bugging out, her cheeks aflame. Every time he said things like that, it always had the same effect on Lucy. But Natsu only shrugged.

"Gray!" Lucy squeaked. "Stop it!"

"I'm going home," Natsu said, before he left. Lucy frowned, he didn't look very well today. She'd go to his house later to talk to him.

"Well, he sure is weird today. What's wrong with him?" Gray asked, looking in his direction too.

"No idea," Lucy sighed again.

"Hey, Lucy."

"Yeah?"

"Did he… punch me… because…" Gray played with the hem of his shirt, not looking into her eyes. His nervousness made her feel so too. "Is your mom dead?"

Oh.

"Yeah…" Lucy murmured sadly. "Around six years ago."

Gray's face didn't react the way she expected him to. He just looked at her with eyes that understood her pain. It may was the way she looked at Natsu when Igneel died too. After all, Natsu gave her that look too in that treehouse of hers.

"Oh." Gray said. "My parents died when I was three, y'know."

Lucy's eyes widened. "Then-"

"Who is Ur?" Gray chuckled bitterly. "She's my aunt. Lyon and Ultear are only my cousins, not siblings."

"Oh." Lucy said, swallowing the knot forming in her throat.

"That's why Natsu and I kind of get along," Gray shrugged, starting to walk. Lucy hurried by his side. "He knows about this, and I know about him."

Well, that sure was a surprise. Lucy thought Natsu hadn't told anyone expect of her what happened with his deceased mother and father.

"And we are similiar, sadly," Gray continued. "And sometimes we just wanna get some frustration out, and we do it by fighting. I guess that's why we never back off a fight."

Lucy fell silent. She always knew Gray was very smart, but sometimes he got too deep thoughts. Although, a part of her told her everything he said was the truth. They were like that, after all.

Lucy chuckled bitterly, her own sadness taking in. "Mind if I join you someday?"

Gray smirked, "You'd beat our asses too quickly, Lucy."

"Don't swear!"

"Anyways," Gray ignored her. "I don't think he did it for that today. He looked really pissed when I mentioned your mother."

Lucy shrugged. "Natsu loved her too."

"Yeah," Gray said, "But he always starts a fight when someone insults you, you know."

She blushed. Of course she knew that.

"Maybe he punched me because he saw you sad at the mention of your mom."

Well, she hadn't thought it like that at all. Was he really defending her? How sweet.

"Woah, you're red." Gray said, shocked as he saw her cheeks. "You really have a crush on him, don't you?"

"W-What?" Lucy stuttered, looking at him with wide eyes.

Gray rolled his eyes, rather amused with her reaction. "Oh, come on. It's so obvious you like him."

"What?" Lucy squeaked, louder than she intended. "Of course not! Natsu's my best friend!"

"Yeah but…" Gray chuckled, enjoying her pain. "Come on. You two see each other every day, all day. You hang out all the weekend together. You know each other since you're like, four, and I'm not stupid, I see the way you look at him."

Lucy blushed furiously. "It's not like that!"

"Right," he mocked as they stepped out of school and into the daylight, sun rays hitting their faces, but it was not enough to stop the shivers they got from the cold. The snow today was as beautiful as always, bathing in pure white they always grey sidewalk.

"Really!" Lucy argued. "I don't like Natsu like that."

Gray laughed mischievously, "It's just a matter of time."

Lucy bit her lip. "Shut up. Natsu doesn't like me anyways,"

Gray scoffed, shaking his head. "Sure…. So you admit you like him?"

Yes. "No!"

"So in denial." Gray mocked. "Hey, where are you going?" he shouted, as Lucy marched away to the right.

"To my house, duh," she said.

"Your house is over there," he pointed at the left. "That way is for Natsu's house."

He was right. "Shut up!"

She hated it when Gray was right.

So what if she liked Natsu? Nothing would change, and she was sure her feelings would fade out as time passed, since it was only a silly crush. Temporary.

After all, she liked boys that were gentleman, like those princes her mom always told her about. She liked assertive boys that treated her kindly, not like her wild classmates. Especially Natsu. He was only her best friend and nothing would ever change.

* * *

It took a broken heart for Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel to get together.

At Sophomore year, Lucy realized that her feelings for Natsu didn't fade away as she thought they would. No matter what happened, she always found her heart beating faster than normal whenever he was around.

And the fact that he was more handsome than ever was not helping at all. Over the past years, he'd gotten a muscled body, with strong arms that hugged her all the time -he still didn't know what was personal space-, a firm, six pack that she couldn't stop looking whenever they went to the public pool together, tanned skin, and a handful inches taller than her. His toothy grin was as wide as always, and his spiky pink hair stood up in all directions, as always.

Lucy couldn't keep her mind away from him.

"Hey there Lucy," Natsu appeared behind her,throwing his arms around her and tickling her ear with his breath.

"Natsu," she groaned. "What have I told you about my space?"

He let go of her and rolled his eyes, "You've told me a lot of stuff, Luce. Don't expect me to remember it all,"

"Mhm," Lucy hummed, continuing her path to the classroom. He followed right after.

"Hey Lucy," Natsu said, his hands into his jean pockets.

"Yes?"

"I like it when you're not crying."

Lucy stopped dead in her tracks, frozen. She opened her eyes widely, her cheeks reddening, He looked as casual as always, not noticing her sudden stop. When he did, he turned around with a curious gaze, totally unaware of the war in Lucy's mind.

"Lucy?"

"W-What are you saying, idiot."

"That you're pretty when you smile."

"S-Shut up!" Lucy smacked him the arm, trying to hide her blush with her golden hair. How was he able to say such things when a blank face? "What's with you all of sudden?"

"Nothing," he said. "Just feeling like telling you the truth."

"Why is that?" Lucy asked.

"Why not? My best friend deserves to know how beautiful she is," When she looked at him with a frown, Natsu wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she knew he was only joking all this time.

It made her sad.

Ignoring the pain in her heart, she rolled her eyes at him. "Stop playing around, you have an exam now,"

Natsu scoffed, "I'm not playing. And don't remind me of that, I'll fail so badly."

"Well, maybe if you didn't hang out with that girl yesterday you'd had time to study properly." she snapped.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she gulped down, looking at him with wide eyes. She'd sounded too harsh, so jealous it maybe was obvious even to him. His face was shocked, unable to believe. He really hated it when she yelled or snapped at him.

"W-What?" he asked. "That… that has nothing to do with it!"

As much as Lucy was shocked, she still was angry. "Yeah, right. Good luck failing then,"

She attempted to continue her way to her class, but as soon as she took one step, a hand grabbed her wrist and held her back, spinning her around so she was facing him again. Their noses didn't brush by an inch.

"Why are you so mad?" Natsu inquired. "I wasn't, like, all day with her! I returned home early!"

"I don't want to know," Lucy said. Thankfully, no one had stopped to look at them. It seemed that they fighting was a very common view.

"Then why are you so mad?" he asked.

"I am not mad!" Lucy yelled, mad.

"Yes, you are!" he insisted.

"Of course not!" Lucy argued. "You're imagining things,"

"So now you say I'm crazy," Natsu nodded, as if it was unbelievable.

Lucy rolled her eyes, "You're making a big deal out of nothing."

"You started!" Natsu yelled, losing it. "Saying I hang with another girl… do you think I'm that type of guy? It's like you don't know me at all!" He gulped down the forming knot in his throat.

"Maybe I do!" Lucy shouted, biting her lip. This had gotten out of control; she'd never fought with Natsu like this. And all of it was her entirely fault.

She blinked back the threatening tears, as she watched a flash of hurt and betrayal through Natsu's dark, sweet eyes. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but no sound came out of it. The view was a stab at her heart, but she knew very well she deserved it.

"Uh… Natsu…" she tried hopelessly.

He closed his eyes tightly for a second before opening them again. The look he gave her completely destroyed her. And before she knew, he was already gone, walking fast -walking away.

She should've known better. Over the years, she'd discovered how sensitive he was with what she said to him. Maybe when other people made fun of him or something, he just laughed it off, because it only affected him slightly after it was done frequently.

But as one day Gray told her, what she said meant a lot to him.

And just as much as it warmed her heart with sweetness, she knew it was just as difficult. And she'd done a wonderful job so far watching out for him, but now… she'd screwed up so badly. She didn't know what had gotten to her, anyways. It wasn't like he was her boyfriend of something, and that she had the right to start a scene in front of everyone.

She turned around and walked to her class, too shocked to even cry. But it wasn't long before Gray appeared in front of her, a frown and a stern gaze directed to her. He looked worried too, as his black eyes scanned her blank face.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing." she lied.

"Tell me," he insisted.

"No," she fought.

Gray sighed and ran a hand through his jet black hair, "Lucy, I've known you two for more than I'd like, I know pretty well when you fought. After it, you look as if the world had stopped and there is nothing more else to look for,"

"You're exaggerating," Lucy said.

Angry, Gray grabbed her shoulders abruptly, snapping her out of her absent state. "Fuck me if I'm wrong, damnit. I heard what happened and I'm not going to let my best friends have a sad life if I can help it. Go over there and apologize!"

"What for?" Lucy murmured. "It's not like he'd forgive me, anyways. He hates me. I'm a stupid." her voice broke at the end, but she still didn't cry.

She didn't like to cry when Natsu wasn't there to comfort her.

"Don't be stupid, Lucy!" Gray shouted in her face. "He fucking loves you more than anyone else, why wouldn't he forgive you?"

"Because I'm not worth it."

"Dammit, Lucy," Gray squeezed his eyes shut as he hardened his grip on her, "Don't go around saying things like that! You're worth the world, and I'm pretty sure Natsu told you it when you had depression last year because of your mom."

Lucy covered her face in her hands, shaking her head. "But I hurt him. I'm the worst friend ever,"

"Lucy, look at me." She obliged, his hard, serious face looking back at her. "Natsu loves you. Of course he doesn't think that of you. Now go get him before I slap both of you."

He turned her around and pushed her towards the exit of the school. With each step she took, she started to walk faster, courage taking over her. Gray was right. She needed to apologize.

So she ran. And ran, and ran, and ran, until she reached Magnolia Southern Park. The trees started to surround her view, enveloping her in a completely different environment. She knew the place like the back of her hand, having been there with Natsu the most of their childhood, playing in the swings, the slide, the trees, running and shouting without a care in the world as Grandeeney watched them.

And true to her thoughts, she found him sitting in a bench, looking at nothing.

The image of him so sad broke her like it did when she saw him in Igneel's funeral.

She walked slowly, sitting at his side in silence. If he noted her, he didn't show it. Lucy bit her lip in thought, but nothing came.

"What do you want?" It was a simple whisper coming from Natsu's lips, but the hurt in it was strong.

"Natsu…"

"Shouldn't you be at school?" he snapped.

"You're more important to me than school," Lucy assured.

"Right…"

With trembling lips, she turned to him, "I know I'm the worst, there's no need to act like this."

Natsu's head shot up faster than it should've been possible, and looked at her with unreadable expression. "Who says you're the worst?"

"I do!"

"You're not!"

"Oh my God, Natsu, I don't want to fight again, okay?"

"Okay."

Silence fell over them again, rather awkward. It's been a long time since they shared this. Things between them were not awkward. Never,

This was proof that she'd screwed up big.

"You're not the worst, Lucy… you're the best." Natsu said.

Her eyes fixed on him, wide and alarmed. "W-What?"

Natsu scratched the back of his neck, his own gaze on the floor. If she was correct, a pink color had gotten to his cheeks. "You're the best, Lucy, even if we fight, or we argue, or something, you're still the best. I know I'll never meet someone as great as you."

Her own face heated up incredibly, unable to believe it. "I… I'm not as you think… Natsu,"

"I know you better than you know yourself," Natsu said. "You as the same way you know me."

"But I said horrible things," Lucy whispered, new tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't worry," Natsu waved it off, "It's nothing. I've heard worse. And… I guess I reacted pretty bad too… Lucy, I hate to see you cry,"

Finally he looked at her with a nostalgic smile, scanning her flushed cheeks and watery eyes. "See? And I'm always the one that makes you cry. I really am the worst."

Lucy sniffed, wiping some tears with her hand. "That's not true… I just… I guess I bottle up too many things and I only cry in front of you because…" she gulped down her embarrassment, taking in a deep breath. "Because you make me feel safe,"

His eyes widened with surprise, and it felt like forever before he spoke again. "Oh God, Lucy…" He quickly enveloped her into a tight embrace, her head in the crook of his neck.

And she cried, because she was safe now.

His school uniform got wet due her salty tears, but he only caressed her golden locks and drew dragons with his fingers into her own blue jacket.

"I'm going to protect you," Natsu whispered in her ear, tickling it, "Just like a dragon protects his princess."

"We're not in a fairy tale," Lucy chuckled.

"Why not?" Natsu asked. "We can write our own. You're good at writing stories, after all, right? Write about us,"

"Us?"

"Yeah," Natsu smiled excitedly, "Like when we met at that pool because I saved your pretty ass,"

"Don't call my ass pretty," Lucy scolded him, playfully.

"And when I comforted you in your little tree house," Natsu continued, ignoring her. "And when you gave me Happy! I remember that day as if it was yesterday,"

"Okay," Lucy said, smiling happily. No more tears came. He sure was her safe place.

"And…" she heard him gulp down nervously, "And you could write when I realized I liked you,"

Ignoring the flip her heart did, and the fast race it continued, she joked, "Oh? When was that?"

"Oh," Natsu said nervously, "We… we were twelve, I think. It just happened one day, like, the thought came to me _'I like Lucy'_ and I agreed, like, ' _You're right_ '."

"But you did a great job avoiding me that year…" Lucy said.

"Well, liking someone for the first time is kinda weird, you know?" Natsu said.

"I… I realized I liked you too that year. Remember when you fought with Gray before Christmas? After you stormed out of school, Gray mocked me and made me accept it." Lucy confessed, her face burning.

"That piece of shit," Natsu shook his head. "He always knows everything."

Lucy giggled, "Yeah…"

"You could write about this moment too," Natsu said.

"I can," Lucy answered.

"It needs something big to be worth it, right'" Natsu asked, breaking their hug, though his hands were still in her shoulders. "Like, a plot twist maybe?"

"A plot twist would be that you're actually gay," Lucy said.

And she'd never seen him redder. "Hey! I'm not gay! Didn't I just say I like you?"

"Then what do you mean, 'something big'?" Lucy asked.

"Something like this," Natsu smirked, and then put his warm lips against her sweet ones.

Lucy found herself too shocked to answer at first, but the taste of fire in his mouth, now gracing hers, made her come back to reality all too fast, though she still thought it was all a dream.

She kissed him back, the feeling of undying love spreading through her whole body. His lips told her so, too. He was feeling the same, and it filled her with utter happiness as well.

It felt as if it all ended too quickly, even if her desperate lungs needed air at the end of it. Natsu placed his forehead against hers, just as always liked to do.

"Do you think it would make a good story?" he asked, a silly, happy smile on his face.

"It's a bestseller for me," Lucy said.

"Good," Natsu said, "That's all that matters,"

Lucy sighed contently, accidentally tickling him. With him by her side, life felt good.

"Oh, and Lucy?" Natsu said, moments later.

"Yeah?"

"Yesterday I was just helping Juvia with advice for Gray,"

"No way."

"Yes," he grinned. "Looks like we need to make a new bet."

* * *

 _ **Word Count= 7090. Well, this is the longest thing I've written, but actually I don't know how to feel about it. I wrote this because I hit 400 followers on Tumblr (bookalchemist) and since I love everyone of you, there and here, I wanted to make something special for all of you! Hope you like, and I'd like to hear what you have to say about this! Thank you so much for reading!**_


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